She almost doesn’t want Zelos to say anything. Not acknowledge anything she’s said. It would mean, somehow, someway, time had stopped, and the day would never come when she had to step foot back into that place. It wasn’t fair, a small voice murmured over and over again in her head, unable to fully subdue the childish, impossible wish Sheena could only dream of coming true. But he speaks, the fire flickers, and the world is still turning. Time would just inch forward slowly but surely and she’d have to make good on her word. One that Sheena wishes she could believe in.
The woman doesn’t look at the redhead next to her, as if the very idea of seeing him would solidify the fact that it was going to happen. It was going to happen because she was there now, with him, because of him. There’s a small part of her that wishes Zelos didn’t have to do this, though whether it was more for Sheena’s own benefit than his it was hard to say. This whole Chosen thing was definitely not what it was cracked up to be. She’d known that before their journey had started in the small ways he let things slip through, the way others saw him, treated him, expected of him. But they were here, together, stuck with the cards life had thrown them, for better or for worse.
“You always say that,” Sheena mutters, tone still not sounding quite as normal as she’d hoped it would be. The sensation of Corrine’s warmth has thawed away at her tense muscles, the muffled sound of his heartbeat in her ear soothing the wild fluttering in her own chest. He’s the one that helps her keep going. A small beacon of support throughout her life, always there, always so determined. Every exhale through the summon spirit’s nose ghosts against the side of Sheena’s neck, and as he shifts to situate his forehead more comfortable against her the bell chimes softly again. With or without words, the small fox practically radiates a sensation of love and comfort, silently encouraging her.
Sheena’s eyelids flutter shut, letting a silence settle between them as she focused solely on the small creature in her arms. She’d be okay… So long as she had Corrine there with her, she could get through this. She’d do it for him, for Mizuho, for Tethe’alla. Even for Zelos.
It was her duty after all.
Ever so slightly the ninja unfurls herself from around the fox’s body, gaze briefly shifting to Zelos to look him over for the first time since he joined her.
“How’s your head?” She hadn’t seen him hit the ground when he passed out, but blacking out like that couldn’t be pleasant in the slightest. He had to be hungry by now too, considering he’d been out during dinner as well. That didn’t mean she was going to jump up and make him anything, but it didn’t hurt to make sure the guy wasn’t suffering.
Not unless he went ahead and asked for it, anyway.
It takes a second for him to pick up on the question. Zelos runs his fingers through his hair, debating on a flirtatious response to lighten the mood. How easy it would be to anger her, to distract her from any lingering anguish with fury.
... But now didn’t seem the time.
Sometimes, he wished that they could be closer. It would be easy to tell her everything. Lay it all out on the line, let her understand the truth - but she wasn’t the type to take it as it was. She may seem like it, may pay lip service to the idea that duty was duty, but Sheena was too soft for the harshness of it all. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed her presence so much. She was a sorely needed breath of fresh air in a sea of troubles.
He wished he could talk to her.
Be honest with her.
Be open with her.
But to do so would only add to her already hefty burden. There was no need to add more regrets to the pile.
“It’s fine. Think I was more startled than anything. Fantastic though I am -- after our adventure I definitely needed a rest,” he says, cavalier as can be. “Why, were you worried?”
